Five fun and easy ideas for the best virtual work Christmas celebrations
Missing your traditional office party this year? Here are five fun and easy ideas for the best virtual work Christmas celebrations.
Yes, this year’s Christmas office celebrations will probably feel a little different – but think of it this way: you’ll still be able to have all the awkward games, silly trivia, Buble’s entire festive discography and the latest gossip minus the embarrassing walk of shame into the office the next day.
So grab that festive top, don your best (or worst) Christmas jumper, get yourself your favourite drink and log on for what will be a home-office Christmas party like no other!
Five fun and easy ideas for your team’ virtual Christmas party
The office Christmas party is one of those events we secretly love. Yes, they can be cheesy – but coming together after a full year of hard work makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
It’s a time when we can share our excitement about the holidays, play some embarrassing games and find out how everyone’s celebrating – and this year is no exception.
In fact, according to a survey by retailer Next, just over 45% of brits will be making more of an effort in their homes to celebrate Christmas this year. Even more of a reason to show off your indoor décor to your colleagues via video call!
After giving your co-workers a festive virtual tour of the house, it’s time to crack on with some fun virtual games. Thankfully, there are plenty of options when it comes to planning a work Christmas party online. Whether your colleagues like being challenged in a competition or prefer something more low key, the following ideas will suit everyone.
Here are five ways to host a virtual Christmas party for your office.
1) Virtual holiday team-building games
Virtual team building games are more important now than ever, given the challenges of remote working. A virtual team building activity can remind you of the amazing and fun people behind the screens every day.
Some fun and festive team building games to choose from are: Christmas movie charades (simply act out the title or a scene of one of the classic holiday movies like The Grinch, Home Alone or Bad Santa) or holiday-themed trivia, where you’ll break into teams and complete timed trivia questions centred around holidays around the world.
Some fun questions could be:
- When was the term ‘’X-mas’’ invented?
- True or false: The song ‘’Jingle Bells’’ was written specifically for Christmas
- True or false: You are supposed to light all the candles on the first night of Hanukkah.
- How much money do Americans spend (on average) on holiday gifts per person?
2) Guess the gift
As most of us will agree, snooping is part and parcel of festive fever. As we see gifts with our names pile up under the tree, we can’t help but take a sneak-peek and predict what’s inside. So why not gather your team and start playing guess the gift?
There are two ways to play. The first way is to hold up the gift and let your team guess what’s inside, according to shape and sound. Another way, if you don’t want to open your presents, is to wrap some items you have at home and have your team identify the objects following the same process. You could reveal some small hints if you see them struggling!
3) Create a holiday playlist
December is the only month of the year to have its unique set of songs. Virtual or not, no holiday party is complete without carols. To get the team into the Christmas spirit, ask them to create a shared holiday playlist.
Our tip is to include karaoke versions of the most famous jingles so you can wow your co-workers (or completely make a fool of yourself!). Both make for a fun-filled experience, so don’t be shy!
Here are some timeless songs you could belt your heart out to:
- All I Want for Christmas is You
- Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
- Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!
4) Virtual holiday bingo
Is it even Christmas without a bingo game? We all love it in person, but it’s equally as fun virtually. Here’s how to set up virtual bingo: arrange a call with via Zoom, Skype, House Party – or whichever you prefer – and then download bingo tickets (there are plenty of online platforms that allow you to do this).
Now, to avoid chaos, decide who will be the bingo caller as they will be tasked with writing down and keeping track of the numbers.
What are you waiting for? Get ready to bingo!
5) Host a remote Secret Santa
This is perhaps the most exciting game of your virtual calendar. We all love Secret Santa and who says the pandemic has to scupper our plans?
Create a list with all the names of your team members and use a simple name generator to find out who you will be sending a gift to. One handy tool is Draw Names, which gives you access to your Secret Santa’s wish list and address. You’ll then need to send the gift to the recipient before a set date and arrange a time to unwrap the presents via video call.
To make it even more fun, once you have all opened your gifts, try and guess who your Secret Santa was!
We hope you have a great virtual Christmas office party and manage to raise a glass and celebrate everyone’s hard work, dedication and success over the past year!
You can find more inspiring festive articles on a range of subjects, including how to balance work and family over Christmas holidays and how to avoid festive stress on the Talented Ladies Club blog.
Photo by Алсу Ягудина
